Alfred
King Alfred of Wessex and Mercia '''(Old English meaning "elf counsel") is the illegitimate son of Judith and Athelstan. He was protected by the late King Ecbert, who claims that God has very special plans for him. He is also seen as having a great destiny by his step-father, King Aethelwulf. Biography Season 3 Shortly after Alfred's birth in Born Again, he is taken by Ecbert's noblemen and Judith is brought before the court on trial for adultery. Her ear is removed, and she reveals that the father of her child is Athelstan. Ecbert then stops the trial and pardons Judith, stating that Athelstan was a holy man and his son was chosen by God. Athelstan was also beloved by Ecbert. Season 4 King Ecbert makes the proposal to send Athelwulf and Alfred on a pilgrimage to Rome in order to meet the Pope. Athelwulf reluctantly agrees, and they, along with Prudentius depart on their journey. Once in Rome, Alfred is greeted personally by Pope Leo, who considers him the future of Wessex and England. Later he takes part in a holy crowning ceremony, where he is gifted with an exquisite sword and made a consul of Rome. Alfred is shown again in the episode In the Uncertain Hour Before the Morning. Years has pased and Ragnar comes back to Wessex, with his son Ivar, apparently for revenge, but is captured by the guards and it's putted into custody by Ecbert. In a certain moment, Judith presents Alfred to Ragnar. Ragnar, who loved Alfred father's very much, knowing his identity, hugs him, and Alfred hugs him back in confidence. In All His Angels, Alfred is playing chess with Ivar, until Ivar is send away to talk to his father. Later he reappears to say goodbye to Ragnar, who is going to his execution at the hands of King Aelle. Ragnar gives him the cross chain of his father, and Alfred says that he is going to miss him, giving him their last goodbye hug. Season 5 Alfred, Aethelred, Aethelwulf and Judith are in exile in the marshes, Alfred is struck by sickness. Alfred has a vision in which Athelstan tells him the Vikings are in York, so King Aethelwulf joins forces with Bishop Heahmund. the Saxons led by King Aethelwulf and Bishop Heahmund attack York, but are led into a trap. Alfred's brother Aethelred is wounded and the Saxons are forced to retreat. During the night Ubbe and Hvitserk appear to prupose propose a peace. Alfred and king Aethelwulf seemingly accepts their offer, but Heahmund arranges to have the brothers humiliated. The Saxons are joined by Judith's cousin Mannel and his men from Northumbria. Heahmund persuades Aethelwulf to lay siege, and attack only when the Vikings are starving. Aethelwulf disciplines Heahmund they then see the smoke from the fires and enter the apparently deserted city. The Saxon celebrate but are cut short when Vikings appear from the sewers and engage in battle. Heahmund is captured. The Vikings retake and garrison the city, as the Saxons retreat. The saxons retreat to Winchester and they decide to stay there, Alfred swears at Ecbert's grave to pursue the former King's vision of uniting the country. After collapsing during mass, Alfred recovers and decides to make a pilgrimage to Lindisfarne. When Alfred reaches Lindisfarne he asks the monk's about Athelstan but they do not provide much information he then makes a suggestion for the monk to translate the Bible to English because many in England don't understand Latin. When Alfred decideds to pray he hears his father's voice praying with him. However, a couple of months after Alfred's accession to the throne, resentment grew amongst some great West Saxon nobles. Indeed, many nobles and clergymen were dissatisfied of Alfred's decision to appoint bishops and to translate the Bible in English. Many nobles thought Alfred was a threat to Wessex and planned to have his brother Prince Aethelred crowned as king. A conspiracy was soon formed, regrouping several nobles who plotted to murder Alfred and put Aethelred in his stead. The conspiracy failed as Aethelred proved to be incapable of killing his own brother. As the West Saxon army prepared to move out to face Harald's army, who had launched a campaign to attack Wessex and plunder it, Lord Cyneheard, a great West Saxon noble, was arrested by Alfred on the charge of conspiracy. Cyneheard was later tortured by Judith who soon learned that the conspiracy's leader was none other than, Aethelred himself. Alfred's crown came under threat at multiple times in his first years of reign. His brother Aethelred defeated a large Danish Viking fleet at the Alre River which planned to attack Winchester. Following the West Saxon success, Alfred sealed an alliance with two of the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok, Ubbe and Bjorn, as well as with Lagertha and Torvi, who fled Norway and Kattegat following their defeat against Ivar and King Harald. Alfred agreed to give them refuge in Wessex and eventually to fulfill the promise of granting them lands in East Anglia, whereby his new Viking allies would have to fight for him against their fellow countrymen. Lagertha accepted as well as Ubbe, however Bjorn took the offer with resentment, thinking that in time, Alfred would not fulfill his promises. In order to materialize this new alliance to the eyes of his people and of the West Saxon nobles, Alfred supervized the baptism of both Torvi and Ubbe, much to the discontentment of Bjorn. Ubbe soon became Alfred's trusted military adviser, teaching him how to fight and devising his battle strategies. Ubbe urged Alfred to be at the head of his armies as Wessex came under threat once more with King Harald planning to attack Wessex. Alfred, thanks to Ubbe's subtle strategy, led his army to victory at the battle of Marton, which saved his crown and Wessex from the viking peril. Personality Alfred is shown to be somewhat shy, as he runs away and hides at Ecbert's court when in front of a large crowd of people. He is also quite knowledgeable in biblical stories, as he is able to answer Pope Leo's questions on Jesus' crucifixion, despite Alfred's young age. He also excels at board games, having defeated Ivar the Boneless at chess at the Wessex royal villa, whilst Ragnar Lothbrok was being held by King Ecbert. Trivia *As an Anglo-Saxon prince, his real title would be ''Alfred aetheling'''''. Aethel (or athel) is the Old English word for noble, whilst "ing" denotes smaller or lesser status. So it would mean a smaller status within the Wessex royal house. The same title would be akin to his brother, Aethelred, who in turn would named Aethelred atheling. Any son of a king would possess the title Aetheling, inclusive of Aethelwulf prior to being King. *The name Alfred means "elf counsel". Anglo-Saxons commonly held compound names, with real-life examples Edward the Confessor (rich protector), Aethelred Unraed (Aethelred = noble counsel, Unraed = ill counsel, though he is incorrectly known as the Unready), Eadred (rich counsel), Athelstan (noble stone), Edgar the Peaceful (rich spear) all as Kings of England. Athelstan, his late father, would thus hold the name "noble stone". ''Stan ''is the Old English for the modern English word stone. His brother's name means "noble counsel", whilst his father's name refers to "noble wolf". *In real life, Alfred had four brothers, all of whom were full brothers, and sons of King Aethelwulf of Wessex. After the death of their father, and the Great Heathen Army's invasions of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, he succeeded his brother King Aethelred as King of Wessex due to Aethelred's sons being too young to take the throne, following the Battle of Merton. *The real life Alfred was noted to be a very studious boy, though as a younger brother was unlikely to be king. He may have ended up in the clergy, or have been a senior thegn (or noble) to his elder brothers once they were kings. However, many younger sons or children eventually became kings in succession to their siblings in this period, as they were trusted military assistants and counsels and thus had the skills and knowhow to rule. Alfred's own children, King Edward the Elder and Lady Athelflead, succeeded each other in reconquering Norse areas of England. Alfred's grandchildren, Kings Athelstan, Edmund and Eadred, all were successors of a united England. *Whilst never King of England in the strict sense, he is the only sovereign in the lineage of English monarchs to have the epithet "the Great". The first King of England is recognised to be Athelstan (r. 927-939), who in 927 AD/CE united the reconquered Danelaw areas, Wessex, and Norse York/Northumbria, into a singular Kingdom of the English. King Athelstan was a grandson of Alfred the Great. *King Alfred's life was recorded by his bishop, Asser, and he is said to have re-founded the modern city of London following the Norse invasions, instituted military reforms inclusive of localised defensive centres, created a standing navy, and ensured major literary works were translated into Old English. Appearances Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Children Characters‎ Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Anglo-Saxons Category:Wessexians Category:Princes Category:Kings Category:Christians